Speedboat



April 14, 1942.

P. F. LAPIDOVSKY nFiled Deo. 12, 1940 fia 76 50 SPEEDBOAT 5 Sheets-Sheet l April 14,' 1942. P'. F'. LAPIDOVSKY 2,279,821 SPEEDBOAT F'ilevd Dec. l2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 14, 1942- P. F. LAPlDovsKY SPEEDBOAT 5' sheets-sheet 3 Filed Deo. l2, 1940 jl|ll April 14, 1942. F, LAPIDOVSKY 2,279,827

SPEEDBO'AT 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. l2, 1940 w QN Y v W Y BM. 0W.. Y @d l [EN F I! W V dr T. Alu MIM' .WN mrmv f@ MWI. wf @.04 WM.' f! /i f April 1.4, 1942. P. F. LAPlDovsKY I 2,279,827

sPEDBoAT v IIJIHIHIIUUWII" ,2g 4 .L

Filed DSG. l2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Apr. 14, 1942 UNITED STATES MEN? OFFICE* y SPEEDBOAT? Piotr F. Lapi'dovsky, Wilmingtonaljel.. Application December 12, 1940, SeriaiNo. 369,885

ii Claims. (or. 11s- 63) hull,- which is moving twenty milesA an hour. If,y

however, the hull is provided with a movable' sheath or envelope which is driven rearwardly, by power, at the same speed that the boat is moving forwardly, this sheath or envelope is, with respect to the water, stationary, and therefore the skin friction between the water and the hull is greatly reducedbyreason of the use of such a.

power driven movable sheath or envelope.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the'boat comprises a pair of. very long pontoons which are braced apart in parallel and longitudinally extending relationship so as to form a double hulled boat. These pontoons form the supporting and water-displacing portion of the boat. They are water-tight and are of sufficient size so that the interior of the pontoons can be used for fuel oil or gasoline, ammunition, 'cargo space, etc.

The two pontoons are strongly braced apart throughout their extentby a rigid frameworkor deck which may serve to carry the Anecessary engine. or engines and the necessary ordnance, such as a 'l5' mm. gun, machine guns, anti-aircraft.

guns, torpedo tubes, etc.

1 Each of the described pontoons is provided with at leastone, and preferably three, endless` belts. Suchv a belt provides. a movable sheath or envelope, which confinesA between it and the hull a thinlayer of water4 which moves along with the pontoon or hull, thereby reducing friction between the hull and the water.` One of these belts lies underneath the bottom of the pontoon and isof about the same width as the'bottom of the pontoon; this belt passes around the ends of the pontoon and from bow to stern thereof on the. topv of the pontoon. Each pontoonv at each end is provided with a hollowVv drum which hasy four- Cll pairsof. belt-engaging-teeth. 'Ihe pontoons are ,Y

carrying'anequallength of the belt.

Each 1side of each pontoon, to a height a little abovelthe Water line, isA provided. with a verticallyextendingr belt whichis .connected to the 4described bottom portion. yof the belt, thev three portions' of the belt therefore surrounding as much of thelpontoonas is in the, water.

The. three belt sectionsdescribed above are driven. asla'unitso that thebcttom stretch of the belt, that part4v in the water, with respect to thek boat, rn-'ovesA rearwardly asfast as the boat moves forwardly, so that it is ineffect stationary with` respect to the water. The top stretch of the beltA would therefore move, withrespect to the water at twice the speed of, theboat..

The de'scribed'frction reducing belts may assume several forms. In the preferred embodiment of 'the inventionA these belts are formed by wires, of 'about the strength and size ofy piano wires, braced in parallel and abutting relationshipand being so held by vbeing gripped at suit. able intervals between gripping plates, about4 every ten feet. Built into the beltl of piano wires areaxiumb'er of. main cables, preferably four, and these; cables lreceive thel driving power from the driving. drums and transmit such power to the wires through the gripping plates or clamps above. mentioned.

, The boatis propelled preferably by an inter-` nal combustion engine power plant driving an air. l propeller. However, a, water' propeller could ber used "instead ofthe air. propeller, or both types of propulsion could ,be used.'

Power for drivingv the friction reducing belts is preferably obtained from a power plant for each belt; however aA common power plant for the v quickly, to Vescape, frommoreheavil'y gunned .Ves-

" sels, and to avoidaircraft bombs.

Referring now to the, accompanyingV drawings,

illustrating4 the present. preferred embodiment of'` Fig. 2 isa plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the-aft partl of I the boatv A Fig. 4 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged bottom plan view of a portion of one .of the pontoons;

Fig. 6 is a side `elevation of the aft end of one of the pontoons, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 7 isa section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a detail; an Fig. 9 is a view of a modification. Referring now to these drawings, in which similar -reference characters indicate similarr l parts, the boat comprises a pair of pontoons2 extending the entire length ofthe boat. These pontoons are substantially rectangular in cross section and have vertical side walls 4. pontoons are of suiiicient size so that whenthe entire boat is in the water the water line is'about' These one-third of the way up the side..wa1ls. iof.;tl'1e4 pontoons. When in motion, about three feet.

the boatwoulddraw.

drums at the bow and stern ends of the pontoons. the pontoons 2. Sprockets 30 are provided with teeth 32 which engage with the cross bars V24,

near the ends` thereof, the belt of Wires I6 being ,provided with suitable apertures 32a for accommodating the teeth 32. l The ends of the Wires, adjacent the apertures 32a, are anchored in any suitable way to the ends of bars 24 and to the plates I8.

The belt of wires I6, at the bow and stern, pass around cylindrical drums 33, the ends of the pontoons being curved as at 2a to accommovdate these'drums and being provided with arcu- "ate passageways 2b, a little wider than teeth 32, f .for accommodating such teeth. 'I'hese drums are provided-with two `sets of belt-engaging or 'I'he two pontoons are braced apart in rigid' Y parallel relationship by a Y strong rigid v frame Vor truss indicated generally by I. "I'he truss A6V Each pontoon isprovided. with an. endless belt indicated generally at 16; This belt preferably formed of a plurality of closelyspaced abutting parallel wires VI6; of the caliber and strength of piano wires. ASuch a belt, in which' the Wires I6 are in abutting, side-'byside rela.- tionship, as shown in Fig.'8; forms 'an insulating sheath or envelope, confining betweenit and the hull a thin layer of water which travels along with the hull, acting as an insulating layer for reducing frictinal drag between 'the hull 'and the water. VYet there i s no'frictional drag between such sheath or envelope,"`and the'water below it; because it is substantially stationary with respect tosuch water below it.' These wires;l

every .few `feet, are clamped betweenA 'bars'lor clamping Aplates I8, which Vinturn'are clamped together by Vbolts 20.

The clamping plates I8 arej ang-ularly .positioned as shown in Fig. 5, afnddnear'the apex point are welded as at 22to a crossbar24. 'l

The belt I 6 also'comprisesj- V'as an 'important part thereof, a plurality of relativelylarge cablesl 26, preferablyfour number, and the cross-bars` are Welded as at 2'I t`o" the inner pair of these'l cables 26, and welded tothe headof'center boltl The wire grippingplates I8, I8, one of such plates cesses28 for` this purpose;

AThe wires ls, Camesjzs, the gnppjing'piates ,|81 and the cross bars 24,' together constitute a unitary assembly fornling` the bottoni and topV stretches of the endless belt.l

At or near the apex of the angle fof rned'byfthe'Il plates I8, there is mounted a water-'proot'balk bearing'wheel 29, which rolls along and" bears againstv the outside ofthe bottom wall'` 'ofthe pontoon 2 `and against y'thiefoutsidedfj'the top wall of the pontoon: f f" The endless belt of wires mediate sprocket wheels V3l), "'andfby; cylindrical cables k26 are `also gripped between' the" 4I6 is driven b 'y inten."

sprocket teeth 32, there being four teeth in each set. These teeth 32 engage bars 24 in the same way, as teeth 32 on -wheels 30. In order to accommodate the plates I8 and bars'24 as they` pass around the drums33,` these drums areA pro-y vided'on their surfaces with flattened areas 33a,v

which extendlongitudinally, that is, parallel to the axis ofthe drum. 4The Wires I6, cables 26; and bal1 1bearings 29,' pass smoothly around4 the exteriorof'the drums33. v

` The sprockets 30" and drums 33 yare mounted on transverse driving shafts 34, and these shafts: areprovided with gearsj36meshing with gears 38 mountedA on .longitudinal Vdriving shafts 40.'

The driving shafts 40'are in turn driven by.

driving chains`42, engaging with sprocketwheels on the shafts, these chains in turn being' driven by sprockets from an engine 46 carried by the trusswork 6 between 'the pontoons. The engine` 46, maybe an engine of the Liberty motor type of about 400 H. P.

Instead of one engin'e 46 as just described,i

there maybe provided twoengines 4l, as in Fig.

9, above each drive shaft 40, these engines driv-` ing gears 48; which mesh with gears onshafts 40 for driving the shafts.

fThe vertical or side portions of thenendless belt are indicated generally at 50.' Each side por-'-` tion Vis` also composed of wires, such as piano wires, gripped and clamped' by and between the? vertically extendingplates I8 which may bere'- gardedV as an `extension ofthe clamping plates I6. At the upper ends thereof, the plates I8v are provided with,v stub shafts 52, on the ends of' which are mounted ball bearing wheels 54.whlch engagein andjroll along in longitudinally ex` 1 tending channeled guideways 56, secured on the' o utsideof the vertical walls 4 of the pontoon 2.

Plates I8 on 'the bottom and' I8 on'the side aljej secured together as a unitary assembly, the guideway 56 'providing thenecessary support for preon venting sagging of the lower stretch 'of 'the b'elt.`

being'provided withlsubstantially U-shaped re- Guideways 56 are widened andcurve'd, as at 51,

where theyare adjacent' theends of dru1n133.V VIn'forder to compensate forthe variation in effective' length "0f 'thwres as 'they so around the drums 33 vatth'e fore andlaft ends of the plon-l toon,v these 'side wires .50.,` s shown -in-Fig". 6,; are'Y arranged in -groups f The endsfofY all the" wires of one vgrouparesecured to the plates I8. The other lends of' the `wires'of this group are;` clampedbetween. pairs' of plates 58,;i the lower endsof each p'air` of such plates being pivoted as'. atl 6I);V while tensionsprings' 62 are provided to pull' the plates 58; towardthe adjacent bars I8..4 As the wires 5I)Y travel .around the: drums.33, the -inner Wires would tend tosbeQle slackyand 'Ghisa Sprockets 30 are mounted in wells 3| in amasar is.- prevented by.V thel tension springs. 62 which compensate for this variation andkeep. the wires: tant even while. they go around the drums. After the--wiresget around the: drums thetplates 58 assume their original` position, as shown at the upper part of Fig. 6'. Instead of. springs 62. conneoted to plates 58, it. apparent that individual smaller springs could be attached to theV end of each wire, for accomplishing the same purpose.

|Ivhe clamping plates IB, cross bars 24, etc., although lin the water, offer no frictional resistance t the boat, because the lower stretches of the endless belts are practically stationary -with respect to the water.

The belt is so driven that its lower stretch is driven rearwardly at substantially the same speed the boat moves forwardly. However, if more power is applied to the belts, it is evident that they would have a propelling eiect, while if slowed down, or reversed, it would have a powerful braking eiiect, particularly in reverse. Suitable gears and transmission could be provided, as desired, for controlling the speed and direction of travel of the belts. The propelling eiect of the belt could be increased as desired by providing transverse paddles or the like, for accentuating the gripping or traction eiect on the water.

There has thus been provided a high speed boat, capable of travel for long periods because of the large storage space for fuel in the pontoons; the boat is wide and low, providing stability and low visibility. It may carry a formidable armament of light artillery and torpedo tubes.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in some detail, it

should be understood that the invention is not limited to these details, but may be carried out in other ways.

I claim as my invention:

1. A speed boat, comprising an elongated water-displacing hull, providing a trackway for an endless belt, an endless belt extending completely around said hull and operable on said trackway, the upper and lower stretches of said belt being located above and below the water line, respectively, said belt being composed essentially of a plurality of wires in closely spaced, side by side relation, said wires serving to confine between them and the hull, a relatively thin insulating layer of water for reducing theV drag between the hull and the water and power means for driving said endless belt.

2. A speed boat, comprising an elongated water-displacing hull, blunt-nosed at bow and stern, and providing a trackway for an endless belt, an endless belt extending completely around said hull and operable on said trackway,the upper and lower stretches of said belt being located above and below the water line, respectively, said belt being composed essentially of a plurality of wires in closely spaced, side by side relation, said wires serving to conne between them and the hull, a relatively thin insulating layer of water for reducing the drag between the hull and the water and power means for driving said endless belt.

3. A speed boat, comprising an elongated water-displacing hull, providing a trackway for an endless belt, an endless belt extending completely around said hull and operable on said trackway, the upper and lower stretches of said belt being located above and below the water line, respectively, said belt being composed essentially of a plurality of wires in closely spaced, side by side relation, said wires serving to confine between Sthem; andthe hull, 1a. relatively thin insulatingplayebfo watersforreducing the: drag between v.the v.lfiullland thewater, power means for driving said` endless belt andfpower means forI dvnlirlgtacscrew; propeller; for driving said boat;

, 4i; A, speed boat; comprising an elongatedI water-displacing hull, blunt-nosed at bow and stern, and providing a= trackway for an endless belt; arr .endless belt extending completely around Said hull: and'.v operable onsaid trackway, the `uppenandilawer; stretoheszof lsaid belt being located abovefjandfbelowfthe water line, respectively, said belt being composed essentially of a plurality of wires in closely spaced, side by side relation, said wires serving to conne between them and the hull, a relatively thin insulating layer of water for reducing the drag between the hull and the water, power means for driving said endless belt and power means for driving a screw propeller, for driving said boat.

5. A speed boat, comprising an elongated hull providing a trackway for an endless belt, an endless belt extending longitudinally over and around said hull, said belt comprising a main f portion traveling in a horizontal plane and side portions traveling in respective vertical planes, sprocketed drums and wheels carried by the hull, in operative engagement with the belt, and power means f or driving said drums and sprocket wheels.

6. A boat of the character described, comprising a cargo carrying, water displacing hull, a friction-reducing, relatively thin, endless belt, forming a sheath or envelope extending around said hull in a fore and aft direction, above and below the hull, the upper and lower stretches of the belt being located above and below the water line, respectively, and power means for driving said belt.

7. A boat of the character described, comprising a cargo carrying, water displacing hull, a friction-reducing, relatively thin endless belt, forming va sheath or envelope extending around said hull in a fore and aft direction, above and below the hull, the upper and lower stretches of said beltl being located above and below the water line, respectively, said belt serving to confine between it and the hull, an insulating layer of water, power means for driving said belt, and propeller means for driving the boat.

8. A boat of the character described, comprising a cargo carrying, water displacing hull, a friction-reducing, relatively thin endless belt, forming a sheath or envelope extending around said hull in a fore and aft direction, above and below the hull, the upper and lower stretches of said belt being located above and below the water line, respectively, said belt consisting essentially of a plurality of wires, in parallel, side-by-side, abutting relationship, and serving to confine between the wires and the hull an insulating layer of water, and power means for driving said belt.

9. A boat oi the character described, comprising a cargo carrying, water displacing hull, a friction reducing, relatively thin and substantially flat endless beli; comprising bottom and side portions, forming a sheath or envelope below the bottom and along both sides of the hull, said belt being substantially continuous and serving to confine between it and the hull, an insulating and friction reducing layer of water, and power means for driving said belt.

10. A boat, of the character described, comprising a pair of elongated, water-displacing, cargo-carrying pontoons, framing means for holding said pontoons in spaced, parallel rela-l tionship,` a relatively thin, friction-reducing endless belt extending around each of said pontoons,"

above and below the same, the upper and lower stretches of each belt being respectively above and below the water line of itsl pontoon, and power means for driving said belts. v 11. A boat of the character described, comprising a pair of elongated, Water-displacing, cargo-carrying pontoons, framing means for holding said pontoons in spaced. parallel relationship, a relatively thin, friction-reducing end- 10 the boat.

less-belt extending around each of said pontoons, above and below the same, the upper and lower stretches of each belt being respectively above and below the water line of its pontoon, said belt consisting essentially of a plurality of Wires in parallel, t side-by-side, abutting relationship, which serve to conne between them and thehull, an insulating layer'of Water, power` means for driving said belts and propeller means for driving PIOTR F. LAPIDOVSKY. 

